


Sauce for the Goose...

by Nomolosk



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is so done, Crack, Friendship, Gabriel's A+ parenting, Passive aggressive rebellion, Plagg approves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-01-29 04:46:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21404416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomolosk/pseuds/Nomolosk
Summary: Adrien is tired of constantly having his plans with friends overset by his overbearing and work-a-holic father. So he decides to do something about it.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste & Gabriel Agreste, Adrien Agreste & Nathalie Sancoeur, Max Kanté & Markov
Comments: 109
Kudos: 680





	1. Chapter 1

Adrien seethed quietly, even as he followed Victor's instructions and lounged just so with a pleasant, not to say fatuous smile on his face.

This made the third time this week that Adrien's schedule had been "updated" at the last minute when he had already made plans with his friends. And it was only Wednesday. And this was not the first time things had gone this way. It almost seemed that Gabriel Agreste knew exactly when his one and only son was especially excited about hanging out, because he would invariably interfere during those times. And if he didn't, an akuma attack usually did it for him.

Well, Adrien was sick of it. And he was going to do something about it.

\----

"Max! Markov! Wait!" 

Max turned to see what had Adrien, of all people, calling after him. Although, he did appreciate that Adrien was one of the classmates who never assumed Markov wasn’t with him, even though he was usually out of sight. Maybe there was going to be another guys hangout at Adrien's? The last one had gone very well until Wayhem had gotten jealous and akumatized… of course, if it happened again, Max realized with a sinking heart, he wouldn’t have a chance to help save the day as Pegasus. Ladybug had been gentle, but firm, when she confirmed that she wouldn’t be able to give any of the previous holders miraculouses again.

“Hello, Adrien,” Max said, pulling his thoughts back to the present. 

“Hey,” Adrien said, just a little out of breath, and Max took a moment to really look at him. He counted himself lucky that his classmates had all gotten so close this year, but despite this, he felt he really didn’t know Adrien very well. And yet, it was hard to miss that he was looking decidedly tired and worn out.

“Listen, I was wondering if I could get your help with… a special project. See, I’m looking into security systems- it’s something my father wants me to learn about because apparently people in the fashion industry aren’t above stealing ideas from each other,” he said, rolling his eyes with his last sentence.

Max nodded. “I see. And you naturally assumed I would know a lot about that.”

Adrien nodded. “And Markov too, of course,” he said. “Hi, Markov!” He actually took the time to wave at Max’s bookbag, and Max found himself smiling.

“Thank you,” he said, softly, but sincerely.

“For what?” Adrien asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

“For remembering that Markov is most likely always with me, even if he is unseen, and for addressing him in his apparent absence. It means a lot to both of us.”

“Oh. Um, you’re welcome? I mean, it just seems to rude to ignore him.”

“And yet, if he isn’t out, most people do.” Max pushed his glasses up his nose. “Now, about this project…”

\----

Gabriel Agreste didn’t worry about his schedule. That was what he had Nathalie for… among other duties, it was her job to remind him of appointments and obligations. All he had to do was to set the appointments, or remind her to do so, and then she would remind him when those appointments were looming or had arrived. In all, it was a good system that allowed him to conduct business, design, and take the occasional (or not so occasional) break to tend to his other goals as Hawk Moth.

Still, there was a niggling doubt in the back of his mind as he approved the final design for next season’s handbags and men’s satchels. He was nearly sure he was supposed to be doing something else right that minute, but… Nathalie would remind him. He closed the tab with the handbags and opened the one for footwear.

\----

Nathalie was about to tear her hair out. It was a small thing, really a very little thing, but the appointment with Herr Schermann regarding the specialty wool for men’s suits kept hopping around on the calendar. She was fairly sure she remembered scheduling it. Yet, when the day came, the appointment had been for two days later. Then it had skipped to three days out from that. And now it had been nearly two weeks, and she was beginning to recieve pointed emails and notes from his secretary about how Mr. Agreste could waffle all he liked, but the price wasn’t going down, and if he didn’t order soon, he would be faced either with limited color selection, or a poorer quality of cloth.

\----

Adrien replied to Nathalie’s text with a sigh, but also a feeling of deep satisfaction. She’d just canceled yet another of his friend-outings so that he could have an extra lesson in Chinese because his tutor was going to be gone for two weeks on vacation. Another blow to his social life, and another opportunity for him to get back at his father.

\----

In the end, Nathalie wrote the time for the call with Herr Schermann down on a sticky note and put it on her desktop monitor. So far, it had only been the one appointment, so Nathalie was hoping it was just a glitch in the system and that nothing else would be affected.

She hoped in vain.

The next snag in her usual streamlined schedule happened shortly after the Schermann debacle. An evening meeting was simply erased as if it had never existed. Nathalie didn’t catch the change until the next day, assuming that Gabriel had told her to cancel it and she just didn’t remember doing so. That happened sometimes, especially after she’d been forced to go into action as Mayura. Apparently dizziness and coughing weren’t the only side-effects of using a broken miraculous- time slips and small losses of memory were also on the table. 

So instead of attending his meeting, Gabriel actually had dinner with Adrien, a fact which both surprised and pleased the boy, if Nathalie was any judge of facial expression. Gabriel was his usual charming self during the meal, but Adrien just seemed happy to have his father there for once. Nathalie was therefore wholly unprepared for the wrath that greeted her the next day when Gabriel discovered the mistake.

\----

Nathalie stared at the screen in horror. It was gone. The whole day… _ blank _. What was she supposed to do now?! 

Quickly she paged through to Adrien’s schedule. It was similarly blank, although she recalled that he had at least one photoshoot that day. Well, his was easy enough to fix- it was really only the last minute photoshoots that caused problems in his schedule, everything else had been the same for a long, long time. 

But Gabriel’s… his schedule could change at the drop of a hat, and it was usually her job to find time here or there for meals and to fit in anything that needed his immediate attention. And it was all gone. Every last item… erased as if it had never been. She paged forward to the next day’s schedule and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was still there. Still… on a hunch, she wrote everything down on a physical notepad. There. Now if the same thing happened again- if perhaps, there was some kind of glitch in a subroutine of the software that targeted only the present day, she would not be left grasping at straws.

But that only took care of tomorrow. She still had to deal with today. Reluctantly, she got up and interrupted Gabriel’s morning design time. Hopefully, he would remember most of what was supposed to be happening today.

\----

Plagg cackled to himself as he shredded yet another of the pages Adrien had given him to destroy. He didn’t let the gleam in the boy’s eye as he’d handed over the papers bother him. Adrien was up to something, but Plagg wasn’t about to scold him about it. He wasn’t Tikki.

And besides, whatever it was, it was doing something good for him. He’d had hardly any time to hang out with his friends outside of classes lately, and he’d been understandably down about that, but whatever scheme he had concocted seemed to improve his mental state, so Plagg had no problems with it. 

And besides, shredding these things was almost as much fun as eating camembert.

\----

Nathalie had called the software company and left numerous complaints, the last one being that if they didn’t find and solve the problem _ that day, _ she would have to discontinue use of their product and find a more reliable one. It was a giant pain in the neck, because though scheduling software was kind of a one-trick pony, there were still hoops to jump through when learning the ins and outs of a new program.

But she’d finally found a good replacement that even had a few extra bells and whistles she was itching to take advantage of. Really, she had been in need of a software upgrade for some time. So this was a good thing!

\----

Gabriel frowned at the schedule Nathalie had pinged to him. The new software she was using allowed her to send it to any device he was currently using- a feature he appreciated, since it meant he could simply satisfy his own curiosity with a click of a button, or a swipe of his finger, instead of using precious minutes to call Nathalie to him and ask in person. Very efficient. 

Yet there was an appointment scheduled for that afternoon that he hadn’t remembered. The name on the appointment listing didn’t ring any bells, either. Mdm. Poinard? Was that one of Adrien’s teachers? 

He grimaced. He might grudgingly allow Adrien to attend school, but he was not going to waste his precious time in a face to face meeting with a high school teacher. Whatever the problem was, she could contact Nathalie and she would relay the information at an appropriate time. And if it was merely a courtesy to inform him of something, she could simply email the information and be done with it.

\----

Nathalie caught on when she started getting phone calls from offices she had definitely never contacted, either on her own, or on Gabriel’s behalf. 

Mostly, the calls were to reschedule appointments Gabriel had missed or overlooked. Nathalie had been doing everything humanly possible to prevent such occurrences, but it seemed whatever she did was undone just as quickly. She was at a loss to discover how, though, since she had taken to carrying a physical appointment book with her at all times. And yet, even in the physical copy, things would change. Sometimes drastically.

She put the pieces together when she finally asked one overly-polite secretary just what the appointment had been for, since she didn’t remember scheduling it, and discovered that it was with a well-known family counselor. She sat frozen for a moment and then slowly sank her head down to rest on the surface of her desk, even as she assured the secretary that Mr. Agreste had not, nor would he ever, schedule an appointment with a family counselor.

_ Even if he needs to _, she thought, traitorously.

When she hung up the phone, she started looking over the missed and moved appointments for the last month. They all coincided with times when Adrien’s schedule had been unexpectedly altered- usually denying him time with his friends. She closed her eyes and rubbed them, trying to decide how best to confront him about his meddling. And whether or not she should tell Gabriel about his son’s passive-aggressive attack on his own schedule.

Her epiphany was confirmed later on that day when she discovered that, two weeks out, _an entire week_ of time-slots were blocked out in bright red with the alternating words _ Family Counseling _ and _ Time with Adrien _ on every line.

\----

“Adrien.”

Adrien looked up from his meager breakfast- his portions had been reduced again because he’d gained two ounces in a month’s time- and stared passively at his father’s assistant. One look at her deadpan expression and he knew that she’d figured it out. And it only took her a month and a half, too. He smiled- a perfect, patent, Adrien Agreste The Model™ smile.

“Yes, Nathalie? Is there a change to my schedule?” His tone was perfectly innocent, but her eyes flashed as she acknowledged his knowledge of her knowledge.

“As a matter of fact,” Nathalie said, tapping rapidly on her tablet for a moment, “there is. Your afternoon photoshoot has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. I’m afraid you’ll have to find another way to fill that time-slot.”

“That’s a shame. I was really looking forward to that one,” Adrien said, wondering if he had gotten the sarcasm on just the right side of acceptable. By the very slight quirk of her lips, he judged he had. “Does that mean I can make plans with Nino that aren’t going to change come lunch time?”

“I believe so. Also, I wanted to warn you that while your father would no doubt approve of your growing familiarity with his security systems- in case of an intruder when he was away from home- he would most definitely not approve of the use to which you have been putting that knowledge. However justified you may have felt, your pranks have caused me a great deal of time, trouble, and effort. I must ask you to desist.”

“Anything for you, Nathalie,” Adrien said. “However, I’ve noticed there seem to be a few bugs in the system… I’ve tried to get rid of them, but they might pop up now and then when the system is too heavily taxed to account for them.” He smiled at her again. “Just letting you know.”

Nathalie sighed and raised an eyebrow, but accepted this. She nodded her head to him and left the room, and Adrien abandoned his unappetizing and now cold breakfast, knowing he could probably beg a croissant or two from Marinette. Instead, he got out his phone and began texting his best friend about catching a movie.


	2. Like Father, Like Son

The minute the bell rang for the last class of the day, Adrien was shoving his things in his bag and hurrying out the door. A faint ‘dude,’ followed him, but today Adrien was on a mission- something he had to keep a secret from everyone but one specific person if it was going to work the way he wanted it to.

“Marinette!” He called, seeing her about to leave the locker room. She’d been rushing out of class lately, eager to get home, and he knew he didn’t have time to stop by the bakery today, and it wasn’t something he wanted to discuss over the phone. Fortunately, she’d relaxed around him over the last half year, and was no longer prone to losing her belongings or words around him. As a result he felt he was finally getting to know her the way he wanted to.

She looked at him with raised eyebrows, silently asking him what was the matter.

“Listen, can I talk to you a second? I need your help with something.”

She nodded. “Sure, Adrien! What do you need help with?” She kept a smile on her face, but something about her expression told him she wasn’t quite sure she was going to like the answer.

He grinned in relief and encouragement. “Thanks! And it’s… well, it’s kind of a big deal, but it’s nothing bad, ok? It’s just this.” He handed her a single sheet of paper. She glanced down at it, did a double take, and then looked up at him doubtfully.

“Adrien? Why do you want-”

Adrien cut her off with a finger on her lips, looking around to see if anyone was listening to them, and so missing the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks.

“Shhh! Don’t say it out loud, ok? I don’t want anyone to know until it’s ready. I’ll get you the material and anything else you might need, just make me a list. And I’ll be more than happy to pay- I know how much custom pieces cost. Just… will you do it?”

“Um.” She looked back down, studying the design he’d handed her. “It shouldn’t be too difficult, it’s a pretty standard design, after all. And I think I still have your measurements from the last costume party. When do you want it?”

“Well, when can you have it done without sacrificing sleep, school-work, or anything else you need to do?” He countered.

She scrunched her nose (adorable!), obviously doing some rapid calculations as she thought about it. “Hm… give me a week to ten days, after I get all the materials.” She paused, then nodded. “Yeah, that should be enough of a buffer in case anything comes up. And any commissions I get after this will just have to wait.” She smiled at him, calling up an answering smile from him.

“Great! Thank you so much! I have to go- Chinese lesson today- but just text me when you have that list and I’ll get right on it!” He turned away from her, jogging toward the front of the school and tossing another “Thank you!” over his shoulder at her.

\----

A week to ten days later, Adrien’s alarm went off earlier than normal. Plagg groaned and moaned, but Adrien just turned it off and went to take a shower. He’d prepared Nathalie ahead of time, telling her he needed to get to school early to work on a group project since his afternoons were booked for the next two weeks. He dressed in his normal outfit, styled his hair the way it had always been done, and ate his breakfast as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Internally, he was jittery and nervous, fully aware that what he was planning could backfire on him in a major way. But it had come to the point where he felt drastic action was required. His previous tampering with his father’s schedule had resulted in nothing but a few missed appointments and more stress for Nathalie. Well, maybe not  _ nothing _ , since all he needed to do now when he was feeling overworked was to drop a hint about familiarizing himself with the security systems again for her to rearrange some things so he could have an afternoon free.

But his father had been going on and on about his choice of friends lately, flatly refusing to let him spend time with them outside of schoolwork. So… maybe his plan was a little childish… but maybe it would work, too.

He called Marinette from the car on the way to school, knowing that if he sent a text she might not get it until she was already at school. She sounded groggy when she picked up the phone, but at least she answered. 

“Good morning, Marinette! I just wanted to remind you we have that class project to work on. I’m already on my way to the school, so come whenever you’re ready. And don’t forget to bring the thing!”

She perked up immediately. “Oh right! I forgot today was the day. Thanks for calling! And don’t worry, I won’t forget the thing. Oh! Maybe I should bring some accessories?” she asked, stressing the last word.

He chuckled. “That would be great. I forgot to bring any myself.”

“Okay. I’ll see you soon!”

He smiled and said goodbye just as the Gorilla pulled up to the empty school.

\----

Adrien waited impatiently in the locker room, but it really wasn’t very long until Marinette came barrelling through the doors as if she were late, a garment bag and make-up kit hanging from her fingers.

“Whoa, Marinette! Slow down, we have plenty of time!”

“I know, but…” she paused, catching her breath. Adrien took the garment bag from her as she put the make-up kit on the bench and took off her backpack. He unzipped it a little to take a peek, and a massive smile bloomed on his face.

“This looks great!” he said, beaming at her. 

“Wait until it’s on,” she chided him. “I brought my sewing kit, too, in case there’s any little thing that needs adjustment.” She finished putting her backpack and coat in her locker and turned around, flipping her curled hair off her shoulder. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go put it on!”

He shook himself, having been caught staring at her, and took the garment back into the restroom. He changed as quickly as he could, swapping out everything except his underwear. He hung his own clothes in the garment back and picked up his sneakers, exiting the restroom and swiveling as Marinette looked up from her seat on the bench.

“Well? How do I look?”

Her face underwent a series of expressions, ranging from amused to faintly horrified. “Weird,” she finally pronounced. “You look… weird. It’s kind of scary, actually, and we haven’t even done your hair yet.” She got up and made a slow circle around him while he held out his arms for her inspection, tugging here and there on his jacket. “It fits, though.”

His grin broadened into a smirk. “Well, let’s get started on my hair, then. It won’t be long before other people start showing up, and I want to get out of sight before anyone sees me.”

She rolled her eyes. “You and your grand entrances. Do I even want to know what this is about?”

He winked at her. “Oh, just trying to live up to my father’s expectations, that’s all.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. Ok. Alya’s really better at this kind of thing than I am, but I’ve been watching YouTube tutorials, so sit down and let me get to work on your hair.”

\----

The last bell had rung for classes to start before Adrien cautiously opened the door of the bathroom stall where he’d been hiding. Plagg zipped out of the suit jacket, took one look at him, and started sniggering. Adrien shushed him and waved him back out of sight. Then he straightened his shoulders, schooled his expression into one of stern disapproval, and marched to Ms. Bustier’s room.

He opened the door with a bang just as Ms. Bustier was starting roll-call, capturing everyone’s attention. He stood before them all in a perfect replica of his father’s habitual attire, complete with candy-cane striped ascot, red pants, and white patent-leather shoes. His hair had been styled like his father’s, and he was also wearing a pair of fake glasses made to look like the ones his father wore. He stood with feet together and hands behind his back, hoping that he could keep his composure for what was coming.

He made sure to keep his expression impassive and disapproving, even as his classmates began to react to his appearance. Choe shrieked and pretended to faint. Sabrina caught Chloe as she sagged and merely gazed at him in confusion. Alix and Kim started snickering. Mylene, Ivan, and Max looked shocked. Lila looked at once horrified and furious. Nathaniel was oblivious until Alix and Kim made him look up, then he just smirked and shook his head. Marinette couldn’t even look at him, turning away with shaking shoulders. Alya stared at him with a blank face before slowing raising her phone in his direction. Nino, though… Nino was his piece de resistance. 

Nino actually got up out of his seat and approached him, placing both hands on his shoulders and shaking his head at him sadly. “Dude. I know you want to impress your dad, but… no. Just no, bro. It’s bad enough seeing this look on your old man.”

Adrien tried to make his voice sound smooth and faintly menacing as he replied. “I don’t know what you’re referring to, Mr. LaHiffe. I can assure you, this is the height of fashion.”

An explosion of laughter from his classmates greeted his comeback, and Nino hung his head in shame. Ms. Bustier’s voice was noticeably wavering when she urged them both to sit down. Adrien kept his rigid posture and unsmiling expression, but he sat down. Ms. Bustier almost gasped his name, and had to look away with trembling lips when he coldly answered, “Present.” It was clear to Adrien that his little prank was having exactly the effect he’d planned on. At least on his classmates. 

He kept up the charade all morning long, acting just like his father would toward anything and everything, encouraging Alya to take pictures and video, and causing Nino to almost melt into the floor with embarrassment on his behalf. Marinette seemed to be in an almost constant state of giggling, a sight which he enjoyed immensely and wished he could respond to. 

But lunchtime was what he was really looking forward to. The expression on Gorilla’s face when he walked out to the car, mimicking his father’s stride, was priceless. Fortunately, he’d already asked Alya to follow him out to record it. He didn’t break character for one single moment. Instead, once he was in the car and Gorilla had gotten back in the driver’s seat, he coldly asked to be driven to Gabriel headquarters, where he knew- via Nathalie- his father had a lunch meeting with several key board members. Gorilla raised an eyebrow at him, but he just looked coldly back… and winked. Gorilla smirked and nodded back.

When the car pulled up at the office building, Adrien didn’t waste any time. He’d memorized the route to the boardroom, and swept confidently past any and all secretaries who might have stood in his way, or prevented him from barging in unannounced. Fortunately, his unorthodox appearance seemed to shock them all into immobility long enough for him to pass them by with a curt, “I need to see my father.”

He finally got to the boardroom and took a moment to breathe deeply before opening the double doors with a dramatic flourish. All conversation ceased as everyone turned to look at the interruption. His father stood at the head of the table, Nathalie standing in the corner behind him, and a powerpoint presentation displayed on the wall behind him. Four of the board members sat around the table with papers and coffees before them. His father’s expression tightened as he took in Adrien’s appearance, but before he could say anything, Adrien spoke into the sudden silence.

“Gabriel,” he said, addressing his father by his first name, his tone cold as ice. “I’m not pleased with your performance as my father lately. You have been remiss in your duties and your entire manner has been lacking. You refuse to grant me the independence I’m entitled to as a young man, and you show no faith in my ability to make my own decisions as to my activities and friendships. I’m afraid I’m going to have to cancel any of the appointments that have nothing to do with my schoolwork, and cut off contact with the undesirable people who so grossly take advantage of my willingness to work for the company up to now. Until you can demonstrate that you are able and willing to take up your responsibilities as my father again, I’m going to request Nathalie to arrange for a replacement father figure.” He nodded sharply, even as his father’s mouth dropped open in shock and Nathalie wheezed, turned away and started coughing. “Good day.”

He backed up into the hallway, closing the doors behind him, and quickly strode off down the hall, past the baffled and bemused secretaries and designers. He kept his demeanor as Plagg quietly but distinctly cackled to himself, until he was back in the car with Gorilla, who raised an eyebrow at him. Adrien suddenly felt shaky and weak, but he grinned at him, finally abandoning his persona, and asked to be driven back to the school. He wished Alya had been with him to record that…

\----

He got back to school in time to change back into his regular outfit and brush his hair into a reasonable imitation of his usual style. When he went back to class, Nino hugged him, Marinette push a bag of pastries at him, and Alya bombarded him with questions.

“Did you actually go home for lunch?” Nino asked, when Alya had calmed down enough he could get a word in edgewise. 

“No,” Adrien grinned. “I crashed my father’s lunch meeting at Gabriel Headquarters.”

They all stared at him wide-eyed. He quickly filled them in on his little speech.

“Dude…” Nino said, in awe.

“Wow, Sunshine, I didn’t know you had it in you!” Alya praised, standing to give him a high-five.

Marinette smiled at him, but she looked troubled, too. “Aren’t you worried he’ll pull you out of school?” she asked quietly. “He’s threatened that before…”

Adrien shook his head. “Not this time. I’ve been talking to the school counselor here, and she’s aware that I like being in school, and thinks that it’s the best place for me. If he tries to pull me out, she knows I want her to call social services. If they start an investigation, he’ll be embarrassed even more than with the stunt I just pulled, and he’ll probably cave to my demands.” 

He smiled at her, a wide, genuine smile, enjoying the way her cheeks pinked at the attention. “Besides,” he continued, his grin widening to a full-on smirk. “You should have seen his face!”

His friends’ faces blanked as they tried to imagine what it must have looked like before all of them burst into laughter. 

“Hey, Alya, can I see the videos you took this morning?” he asked, turning to her. Her grin widened and she pulled out her phone without hesitation. They all huddled around it, grinning and laughing at his antics as they played out on the small screen. Adrien sighed with happiness, listening to his friends comments and ribbing. It was the best thing he’d ever heard, and now he had confidence he’d be hearing it a lot more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this comic:  
https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/8azhky/calvin_wears_his_dads_glasses_his_moms_reaction/


End file.
